Forgiveness & The Big Picture

Scripture: Genesis 45:4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!

5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

Observation: Joseph was looking at the big picture. The details about how the brothers had mistreated him and sold him into slavery could be easily forgiven because Joseph now saw and understood God’s purpose.

Application: When I have trouble forgiving, it is because I am NOT looking at the big picture. My mind is caught in a web. I keep focusing on the details of what happened to me. I keep re-thinking how I was mistreated. I keep remembering how bad I felt. Only when I see the big picture of how God fwants to bless me and make me a blessing to others, including the ones who caused the hurt—only then can I do like Joseph and forgive.

Prayer: Lord, I am thankful that you, the Greatest Forgiver, live in me! I want to become as quick to forgive others as you have been in forgiving me. Amen